Carbon paper holder and feeder



D, R. FRUCHEY ET AL CARBONPAPEB HOLDER AND EEEDER I Oct. 31, 1939.

Filed Oct. 18, 1937 swea Patented Oct. 31, 1939 tries Donald R. Fruchey and Don C. Orwig, Napoleon, Ohio Application October 18, 1937, Serial No. 169,582

71 Claims.

This invention relates to carbon paper holding and feeding devices for use particularly in con nection with typewriters.

The primary object of the invention is the provision of novel, simple and efiicient means of this character, which is capable-oi easy attachment to a typewriter and. is adapted to hold a roll oi carbon paper in convenient position for use, if

desired, and is operable by a turning of they platen to properly feed the carbon paper there-- from into the machine with original and copy sheets when positioned in the usual manner in the machine preparatory to its use,

Various additional objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description, and from the accompanying draIWing illustrating one embodiment of the invention, in which Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of the paper feed parts of a typewriter, with parts broken away and with the attachment embodying the invention operatively associated therewith; Fig. 2 is an end elevation thereof, with parts broken away; Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the right hand end portion of the parts shown in Fig. 1; Fig. l is a left hand-end View of the back plate of the typewriter, with the attachment comprising the invention mounted thereon, and Fig. 5 is an enlarged section on the line 5-5 in Fig. 1, with parts removed.

Referring to the drawing, l designates the body or stationary frame of a typewriter of one wellknown make, 2 the platen carriage, 3 the platen roll mounted therein, and the customary back plate attached to the carriage and disposed on an incline at the rear of and above the platen to serve as a back plate 4 for pap-er sheets which are being fed to the platen. The attachment comprising the invention is preferably attached to the back plate i, and while the form and man ner of mountingthe carriage, platen. and back plate may change for different kinds of typewriters, the manner of mounting, construction and operation of the attachment remain substantially the same.

The attachment includes a mounted on standards M which are dctachably fixed to the respective end portions of the back plate 4. In the present instance, each standard H has a foot portion which'laps the front e of the back plate at an end thereof, and is secured thereto in any suitable manner, as by screws or bolts F2. One standard, the right in the ent case, is provided at its upper end with a hole for receiving a pivot stud it on one end of the spring roll roll lil, while the other standard is providedat i its upper end with a vertically disposed top notch for receiving the flat spring held stem M of the roll in the manner of a spring curtain roll mounting. The roll it is free to turn in either :5 direction and is normally held in neutral position by the action of a springitl connecting the roll and its stein Hi. It is thus apparent that upon a turning of the roll from neutral position, the stem will remain stationary, thus causing a tensioning of the spring iti, so that when the turning pressure is released the roll will return to its neutral position,

The carbon paper ii is in roll-form and wound on a cylindrical tube ill, being preferably fixed 115 at its inner end to the tube. The tube is of a size to have a friction fit on the roll it, whereby it is normally caused to turn with the roll, but may be circuinierentially or axially adjusted thereon for the purpose hereinafter describedmzo The carbon sheet ll, when in position for use, has its free end hanging down over the front of the back plate l slightly above the platen as shown in Fig. l. The carbon sheet, when in this position, does not interfere with the placing of the original writing sheet a and copy sheet E; into the typewriter in the usual manner, except that the original sheet is inserted into the typewriter between the back plate i and carbon sheet ill, and the copy sheet b isplaced in front of the carbon,30 sheet.

The initial feed of the carbon paper into the machine between the writing sheets is effected by the turning of a small feed roll 2% carried by a shaft ii that has belt and pulley connection 5 22 at one end with the platen shaft 3 the connection being such as to cause the circumferential feeding movements of the platen 3 and feed roll .20 to be uniform. The shaft 25 is mounted at its ends in respective bearing arms'ilil carried by =40 the standards it. Each arm 23 of L-form, with its short arm disposed uppermost and pivoted at its free end to the respective standard l i, as at 2 5, thence projecting forward and down.- ward to near the lower end of the back plate l where it is adjustably connected to the lower end of the standard 241 by a screw and interposed 2E5. lower end of the arm 23 is apertured to loosely receive the shank of the screw 2?; and the spring so yieldingly holds the arm against the head of the screw and away from the standard ii, best in Fig. i. The back plate t serves as the opposing feed pressure 'means :ior the roll 2t, and the adjustment of the pressure or the feed rollshould be such that a feeding of the carbon will not be effected when the platen is turned, except when a writing sheet a is positioned in the machine between the back plate 3 and carbon sheet. It is important to have the feed pressure of the roll 20 adjusted for this purpose, as otherwise any turning of the platen when an original sheet a is not disposed in the 'machine would effect either a back turning or forward turning of the carbon sheet, which is not desirable.

The copy sheet I) is held away from the feed roll 20 and is also prevented from passing up between the feed roll and carbon sheet upon a back turning of the platen by a guard 2'! pivotally carried by the shaft 2!. This guard, in its present embodiment, comprises a length of wire bent into substantially V-form, with the free ends of the leg portions thereof angularly bent to extend rearwardly and then downwardly into loose embracing relation to the shaft at each side of the feed roll 2!). The apex of the V hangs downward and rests loosely by gravity against the carbon sheet below the feed roll, as best shown in Fig. 5.

If it is not desired to use the carbon paper in the operation of the machine, for instance when a single sheet is being written or envelopes are being addressed, the carbon sheet may be clamped to the back plate 4 by a clamping finger 3B which is pivoted at one end to one of the adjusting screws 25 at the lower end of the spring 26. This finger may either be placed in inoperative upright position alongside of the standard II or it may be swung lengthwise of the back plate 4 over the adjacent portion of the carbon paper H to yieldingly press the latter to the back plate, as shown in Fig. 3.

The use of the attachment comprising the invention is as follows: The attachment being mounted on the back plate 4, and a roll of carbon paper i! being properly mounted on the spring roll in, the carbon is slightly unwound from the roll to permit its free end to be placed over the back plate 4 in substantially the position shown. When in this position, the spring roll should be in neutral untensioned position, and this is accomplished by turning the carbon roll and its tube 58 on the spring roll I0 until the paper hangs in the position shown without any tensioning of the roll spring. The frictional fitting of the carbon roll tube on the spring roll is not only important for this purpose, but also to enable the carbon roll to be shifted axially on the spring roll to suit the desired position of feed of the carbon into the machine. In this connection, the left hand edge of the carbon sheet should be substantially in register with the adjustable paper stop 3! which, in the present instance, is adjustably mounted on the back plate 4!. Original and copy sheets a and b may now be placed in the machine in the usual manner, except that the original sheet a is inserted between the back plate 4 and carbon sheet. When the lower edges of the sheets a and b are in engagement with the platen, a turning of the platen effects a winding of the sheets therearound in the usual manner, and also imparts rotation to the feed roll 2!] through the drive connection 22 and causes a downward feeding of the carbon sheet with and between the writing sheets. This feeding action of the carbon sheet causes a turning of the spring roll it and a tensioning of its spring, so that upon any back turning movement of the platen, the carbon sheet will be back wound to take up any slack. If the machine is to be used for writing on a single sheet or for addressing envelopes, or the like, the clamping finger 30 may be swung down into holding enagement with the carbon paper, thus holding it against movement and in proper position for subsequent use during any turning of the platen.

It is apparent that the attachment may be easily and quickly attached to the back plate of any typewriter or some other convenient portion of the typewriter carriage and is not restricted to use in connection with a typewriter of the type illustrated. It is also apparent that the carbon paper when worn may be easily replaced on the roll If! by simply removing the roll from the attachment and placing a fresh roll of carbon paper thereon.

We wish it understood that our invention is not limited to any specific construction, arrangement or form of the parts, as it is capable of numerous modifications and changes without departing from the spirit of the claims.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent, is:

1. In combination with the platen and back plate of a typewriter, of a spring roll mounted above and in operative relation to the platen, carbon paper wound on said roll and adapted to feed therefrom in advance of the back plate and around the platen, and means operable by a turning of the platen to effect a feeding of the carbon paper, said means being inoperative except when a writing sheet is between the back plate and carbon paper.

2. The combination with a typewriter carriage, back plate and platen, of a carbon paper holding and feeding attachment therefor mounted for movements with the carriage and comprising a spring roll, a length of carbon paper wound thereon and adapted to feed therefrom in advance of the back plate and toward the platen, the roll being substantially free of spring tension when the carbon sheet is disposed a predetermined distance over the back plate but short of the platen, and means operable by a turning of the platen to cause a feeding of the carbon paper with a writing sheet when in position between the back plate and carbon paper.

3. The combination with a typewriter back plate and platen, of standards attached to and rising from the opposite end portions of said back plate, a spring roll supported above the back plate by said standards, a roll of carbon paper on said spring roll adapted to feed therefrom in advance of the back plate and around the platen, the free end of said carbon paper normally hanging a distance over the back plate and free of winding tension of the spring roll, feed means actuated by a turning of the platen and cooperating with a writing sheet between the back plate and carbon paper to effect a feeding of the carbon paper into the machine and a tensioning of the spring roll by such feeding action, and means for adjusting the feeding pressure of the feed means with respect to the carbon paper.

4. The combination with a typewriter back plate and platen, of a carbon paper holding and feed attachment connected to the back plate and including a spring roll mounted for spring tensioning movements in either direction from neutral position, a length of carbon paper wound on said roll and adapted to have its free end hanging a distance down over the back plate when the spring roll is in neutral position, a feed roll engaging the front side of the carbon paper in opposition to the back plate and being substantially free of feeding engagement with the paper except when a writing sheet is disposed between the back plate and carbon paper, means mounting said feed roll for feed pressure adjustment, and means connecting the platen and feed roll to drive one from the other.

5. The combination with ,a typewriter back plate and platen, of a spring roll mounted above the back plate and adapted to have a length of carbon paper wound thereon for turning movements therewith, the free end of the carbon paper being adapted to feed over the front of the back plate and around the platen, means actuated by the turning of the platen and operable in opposition to the back plate to impart feeding movements to the carbon paper, and a guard mounted in front of the back plate at the front side of the carbon paper to prevent engagement of a copy sheet with the feed means when turned'into or out of the typewriter.

6. The combination with a typewriter back plate and platen, of a spring roll mounted above the back plate and having a length of carbon paper wound thereon and adapted to feed therefrom down in front of the back plate, a feed roll mounted in advance of the carbon paper in opposition to the back plate, a shaft carrying said roll, means supporting said shaft, means for connecting said shaft and platenfor driving one from the other, and a guard mounted on said shaft and having loose engagement with the front surface of the carbon paper to prevent a copy sheet from passing between the carbon paper and feed roll.

7. The combination with a typewriter, back plate and platen, of a spring roll mounted above the back plate, a length of carbon paper wound thereon and adapted to have its free end extend in front of the back plate and to then feed around 7 theplaten, and means operable by a turning of the platen to cause a feeding of the carbon paper with a writing sheet when in position between the back plate and carbonpaper, said means including a feed roll acting against the carbon paper and writing sheet in opposition to the back plate.

' DONALD R. FRUCHEY.

DON C. ORWIG. 

